KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEW NETWORK) - The petition for a royal pardon over Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy conviction by his family has been disposed, but it was not revealed if the pardon was granted, according to his lawyer N. Surendran.

He said the decision regarding the petition will only be announced in the Appellate and Special Powers Court here on April 1.

This was confirmed by Anwar's other lawyers Latheefa Koya and Dr Dheeraj Bhar, as well as senior federal counsel Amarjeet Singh.

The decision was conveyed to Anwar's lawyers in the form of an affidavit issued on Thursday by Datuk Nursiah Arshad, the Prime Minister's Department legal affairs director-general, who is also part of the Pardons Board.

Amarjeet said the applicants had asked for a delay in announcing the decision in order to convey it to Anwar first.